Lucky Penny: Neighbor finds missing dog

Friday

Feb 7, 2014 at 2:00 AMFeb 7, 2014 at 11:50 AM

YORK, Maine — Lucky Penny has returned home.

Susan Morse

YORK, Maine — Lucky Penny has returned home.

A neighbor found the golden retriever mix that had been missing since Monday running in the woods, said Penny's owner, Emily Brown of House Wright Road. The man, who asked not to be identified, caught up with Penny as she reached the fence that runs along Interstate 95, Brown said.

"She looks great, no obvious injuries," Brown said at about 6 p.m. Thursday. "She's walking around and wagging her tail."

Brown said she would take Penny to a local veterinarian today to be checked out.

The man who found Penny went looking for her Thursday after reading the story published that day in the Portsmouth Herald, Brown said. Penny, on her leash in the backyard, had gotten spooked Monday night and bolted into the woods, trailing her leash.

As Emily and Wesley Brown had only just moved to York from Virginia Beach less than two weeks earlier, they weren't sure if 6-year-old Penny could find her way home or would survive the foot of snow that fell in the area Wednesday.

The couple had been searching for their dog without any sign of her.

On Thursday, the Browns' new neighbor decided to look for Penny. He picked up her tracks in the woods off of Clay Hill Road, about 2 miles from the Browns' home, Emily Brown said.

Penny's tracks were easy to identify by the line of leash next to the paw prints in the new snow.

"He spotted her, she was running, but running slow," Brown said. "He chased her down. She got all the way to the fence that lines (Interstate) 95. She was very weak and he carried her about a mile to meet my husband. We're just so grateful."

The man had called the cell phone numbers of Wes and Emily published in the newspaper and also engraved on Penny's collar tag.

Wes Brown was driving home when he met the man on their street, said Emily, who soon joined them.

"When I saw her, I burst into tears," she said. "I grabbed her and hugged her. We're new here (but) this community has made us feel we're not new here."

When Penny got home, she got food, water and a much-needed bath, Brown said.

By Thursday evening, Brown reported Penny "was laying in her favorite chair with a blankie and relaxing."

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
seacoastonline.com ~ 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service